5.56X45 AKs in military service

General Firearms Other Semi-Automatic Rifles
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Hello everyone, I come before you with a couple questions regarding the AK platform and military service, specifically, 5.56 AKs. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s my understanding that 5.56 AKs are mainly produced as exports with the exception that some countries field them as actual service rifles. So, I have a couple questions in relation to this.

Which countries field them? How are they performing? And is their a civilian equivalent that an American consumer can purchase?

I ask these questions not only to satisfy my own curiosity, but also to assist myself in buying a new rifle. I’m graduating college soon and would like to buy a top quality “military spec” weapon to commemorate the occasion. I would use the rifle as a home defense weapon that I would take to a carbine class whenever funds and time allow, and also as just another cool gun to have fun with.

I thank everyone for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to the replies.

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There are AK-derivate in 5.56 in use by Polish Army. It is our main assault rifle (SOF units use ARs, mostly differend flavour of HK416) ins service. Used by Polish forces in combat mission in A-stan as well as previously in Iraq.

More on it:

wz. 96 Beryl assault rifle

wz. 96 Mini Beryl automatic carbine

Both are available in semi-auto version for civilian shooters here in Poland (as Radom Sport and Mini Radom Sport).

On last Shot show Beryl, Mini Beryl and Beryl Commando (mid-lenght with gas system from Mini) were presented on Bumar stand. As well as “Archer Pistol” - semi auto Mini Beryl in pistol form, to comply with US assault rifle import ban. FB Radom and Bumar are interested to come on US market, but it is not their priority, as Beryl is more expensive that most Russian and Bulgarian products.

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Theres nothing wrong with an AK in 5.56, but there are plenty of other platforms I would choose first. The AK loses a little bit of the reliability that it is famous for when chambered for the straight walled 5.56 round.

I’d go with 7.62x39 first, then 5.45mm if you want an AK. If you’re set on 5.56 in the AK, get an Arsenal.

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Bulgarians use 5.56 AK’s.
This is one of the most famous pics

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Wow, thanks for the speedy replies so far guys!

Montrala: That Beryl looks awesome! I wonder how long it will take to come to the States. The fact that it will cost more than Russian and Bulgarian isn’t an issue for me. Not that I’m rich, I just don’t have a problem waiting and saving my money to buy a quality product.

lloydkristmas: What you said makes a lot of sense. And from what I’ve been reading mirrors your information. Originally I was planning on buying a 7.62 AK (I was looking at MAK 90s and Arsenals). But the common availability of 5.56 coupled up with the fact that my Grandpa reloads 5.56 (we already reload .357’s for my 686 revolver, and it’s such a nice bonding experience for the both of us I wanted to reload with him more) pushed me towards the 5.56.

96 SS: The AK in that picture appears to have a milled receiver, but Arsenal’s website doesn’t currently list any milled 5.56 guns. Are they the best of the best when it comes to 5.56 Bulgarian AK’s? Or are they equally as reliable as the stamped Bulgarian offerings? I’ve been eying up the SLR-106 so that’s why I ask.

As before, I thank everyone sincerely for reading my posts and replying with such outstanding information. Please keep it coming! :smile:

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I think the only two countries that use a 5.56 AK as a standard service rifle are Poland (Beryl) and Bulgaria (ARM-1)

Arsenal used to import the ARM-1 in semi auto as the SA-5R but they no longer do and they are expensive if you can find one. I have one and it is one of my favorite AKs and one of the few AKs in the US that is actually a real military rifle instead of a generic AK.

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That and there was no Mother Russia to dictate the specs on 5.56 AKs. As compared to 7.62 and 5.45 guns there is a chance of incompatibility. I’m sure Templar will be here soon and expand upon that…

Spooky

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From what I can see, the SLR-106 is out of production and I know of no other quality factory AK’s being sold in the US today. If you want one, you will have to pay a premium on the secondary market. Earlier production models had a lot of feeding problems, and you run the risk of purchasing a headache. I’m sure that the Beryls etc. out there are very nice guns, but unfortunately we can’t have them. You could convert a Saiga .223, but being as you reload and they destroy brass this is probably not a good idea.

Additionally, you need to consider the lack of uniformity in 5.56 AK construction. Firing pins, barrels, bolts, etc are different between vendors. If you need a replacement part, will you be able to find the right one? Magazines, too, are non-standardized and often have to be individually fit. Even after that, they sometimes won’t work.

All things considered, unless you simply ‘want an AK’ for whatever reason I feel that an AR is a much better choice in 5.56 right now.
For not much more than the price of a used factory 5.56 AK, you can get a new Colt, BCM, or Daniel Defense carbine that will be just as reliable (in 5.56) and a lot more sustainable. In addition you will benefit from the better controls and ergonomics, lighter weight, better balance, better sights, cheaper magazines, better accessory options, improved accuracy, and intact brass for reloading.

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Members of Special Detachment 88 perform their skills during a ceremony to mark 62nd anniversary of Indonesia police in Jakarta on 01 July 2008. Special Detachment 88 is the Indonesian counter-terrorism squad, and if the secrecy around it could be lifted, the unit would be one of the prime symbols of Indonesia’s transition from military-backed dictatorship to civilian democracy. Formed after the Bali bombings of October 2002 which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, the unit has steadily hammered the jihadi terrorist cells linked to the absolutist Jemaah Islamiah movement based in Central Java.

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Lebanese Internal Security Forces

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The company I worked for in Iraq purchased 1500 or so of the 5.56 fixed stock AK’s from Bulgaria. We issued them to the TCN guards on various contracts. They were pretty good performers for the most part, but they did suffer from some reliability issues.

These were factory Arsenal weapons with factory magazines.

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Russia-Indonesia,May 2001.Contract for delivery of 5 000 AK-101 and AK-102 assault rifles.

Source:http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/1-2002/ff/icdrame/

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Even more fantastic replies, m4c never fail to disappoint!

calvin118: You make a lot of great points. I knew about the non-standardization, but I didn’t realize the extent of how annoying magazines could be (specifically the part about individually fitting magazines, that sounds like a real chore. Do you run into fitting issues if you only use Bulgarian magazines in a Bulgarian gun)? Maybe I’ll opt for a 7.62 AK instead.

Tex: Those are some great pictures, thanks for posting. It looks like the smoky clear magazines are getting some usage against terrorist scumbags. I wonder if they’re still using those 101’s and 102’s today.

Iraqgunz: Do you remember what reliability issues they experienced specifically, and how prevalent they were? Broken parts, FTF’s, FTE’s, Double feeds? It’s concerning to me that they were using factory weapons with factory magazines and still having problems.

Thanks again guys for the great information, aside from the outstanding photographs, this thread is helping me shape my decision for my future purchase. Keep it coming!

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Doesn’t South Africa still issue the R4? I know it’s a Galil but I don’t know how technical you want to be regarding the 5.56 AK.

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I’m curious who the soldier carrying the red plastic rifle pissed off. :smiley:

I’m with the previous poster, my experiences with 5.56mm AK’s has been less than impressive with the exception of the Israeli Galil and Valmet M76’s. I’ve seen plenty of failures that I don’t believe should have happened with the Arsenal rifles too, and I’m a fan of Arsenal AK in general.

I have no experience with the Beryl. Unfortunately they’re made of unobtainium here in the US.

I own a lot of AK’s but I don’t have any 5.56mm AK’s anymore. I’ve given up on them and stick with what has worked for me and that’s the 7.62x39 and 5.45x39 rifles.

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For several years the Army of Uruguay has been using AK-101s for their peacekeeping operationsin Congo. These are 5.56 caliber full-size AK-100 series.

Looks like they just made a deal to purchase 500 103s, however, so doesn’t look like they’re going to switch to all 5.56 any time soon.

The thing to remember about 5.56 AKs is it’s not as easy to get magazines. It’s not as easy as 7.62 mags, where you can get mags from a dozen or more countries, or even 5.45 mags where there are at least five. 5.56 options are very limited when it comes to quality, military magazines.

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Most of the magazine problems that I know about are with converted Saiga .223’s and older Chinese guns. That said, I have heard many complaints regarding SLR-106 rifles and I would have a lot more faith in a BCM 16" middy than a SLR-106 chosen at random. A factory Galil with factory magazines might be a different story, but good luck finding one for a reasonable price or fitting it with modern accessories.

The issue is not the theoretical capability of an AK in 5.56, but rather the selection and price points we are faced with in the US in 2011. There are no more factory 5.56 guns on the market, and many of the used ones (which fetch an inflated price on the secondary market) face an uncertain future in terms of replacement parts availability.

I was once really stoked about getting an AK in 5.56 too, but after studying the issue determined that it wasn’t worth it (for me). If you have your heart set on an AK, choose between the two major Russian calibers. Get a 7.62x39 if you don’t like cleaning your gun, want to hunt with it, or think for whatever reason you might have to shoot through intermediate barriers. Get a 5.45x39 if you want to save money, don’t mind scrubbing out your gun every time you shoot cheap corrosive ammo, and dislike recoil.

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It is very close to wz.88 Tantal - basically Beryl was designed on top of Tantal to standardize on NATO cartridge. Tantal were newer AK74 - it was developed based on projects for AKMS wz. 80 (AKMS with burst trigger) and Lantan (prototype 7x41mm rifle)

Then some modernizations in form on new stocks, rails, scope mounts, handguards, enhanced safety, etc. and lately STANAG magazine adapter was developed. Lack of compatibility with STANAG magazine was seen as one of biggest Beryl drawbacks in scope of presence of Polish forces in Iraq and A-stan, especially with joint operations with US or other NATO forces.

Beryl is in use mostly in Polish Army, some small numbers were used by Lithuania SOF in A-Stan until some 2002 or little later.

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I think you guys have effectively persuaded my away from a 5.56 AK.

MilitaryArms: First of all, I want to say that I highly respect your opinion and thoroughly enjoy your youtube videos (please keep em’ coming)! The fact that you don’t own any more 5.56 AKs speaks volumes to me.

CumbiaDude & calvin118: Sustainability really does seem like a valid problem with 5.56 AKs. The points both of you bring up make sense to me.

I think for now I’ll choose an AK in 7.62 or 5.45 (in one of Arsenal’s flavors) and maybe pick up a Beryl one day if they ever come to the states, just for a fun gun.

Finally, thanks again to everyone for posting such fantastic content. Before starting this thread I searched google for reliable information regarding the military fielding of the 5.56 AK. And this thread has answered all of my questions and given me very cool pictures to look at. I’m truly grateful!

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I figured I’d add my two cents…

I have an Arsenal SLR-106F (with the side-folding AK-100 series stock) that I’ve owned for a year and change now. I recently ran it through a Vickers AK operator course, and had very good results with it.

A few thoughts, in a semi-organized fashion:

– The recoil is quite mild compared to the 7.62 “original recipe”, and ammo is arguably pretty easy to come by. The barrel is 1/7 twist, chrome-lined, cold-hammer forged, which is what you would expect from a good M4 type. The muzzle brake smooths the already easy recoil even further (but doesn’t do much for flash when shooting full powered 5.56). It is exceedingly accurate if you do your part…probably moreso than the 7.62 version.

– Larry Vickers says to get a Galil or Valmet if you want a 5.56 AK, and with some justification. The 5.56 cartridge is much straighter and less tapered than either 7.62x39 or 5.45x39, and requires a decent feed ramp to chamber reliably. Early Arsenals (mine included) had no feed ramp to speak of. Mine failed to feed properly as a result. It took a trip back to Arsenal and a subsequent tune-up trip to VA Arms to get my feed ramp in 100% shape. After that, it’s been 100% reliable.

– Mags aren’t exactly cheap for 5.56 AKs. If you’re running an Arsenal (and that’s the only one you should consider really for a 5.56 gun) you’ll need to grab some Bulgarian Circle 10 mags from k-var.com or whoever happens to have them locally. You’re looking at ~ $30 per mag on average. The black mags are the way to go for reliability. The clear ones look really cool and have the added advantage of a quick visual on your round count, but aren’t as durable. Some of mine have developed cracks…I intend to run them until failure and replace with black mags.

– You mentioned that you want to reload. I’ve noticed that my 106 tends to ding and deform brass in one way or another, probably due to the feed geometry. Parts are also rather hard to come by… I have no spare firing pins or extractors on hand for the 106 at the moment, though I’m told that k-var has them if you call.

All that said, I’m holding onto my 106. Once I gutted it out through the feeding issues, it’s been a 100% reliable gun, and it’s a lot of fun. Having had time to wring it out, I’d trust it just as much as my BCM if I had to grab up a personal long gun to take into harm’s way. As long as you’re cognizant of the ups and downs of the 5.56 guns and know what you’re getting into, they can be quite nice.